A Swiss campaign to abandon the country’s Schengen Member State status, which guarantees freedom of movement with 26 other European countries, has received approval to move forward from the Swiss Government. Proponents of the initiative to curb immigration from the EU now have until July 2019 to obtain 100,000 signatures in support. If successful, the initiative would come down to a vote by the entire Swiss population to be passed into law. This referendum represents a continuing trend in Switzerland in response to its dissatisfaction with the EU’s resulting economic limitations placed on the country as a non-member. The latest push for stricter immigration reform comes after the 2014 referendum against mass immigration, which was later watered down by the Swiss parliament in 2016 in an effort to preserve diplomatic relations with neighboring countries.
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